Nikon 24-120mm f/3.5-5.6G AF-S VR - £560/ $860

Almost exactly the same size and weight as Nikon's 18-200mm DX VR lens, this FX counterpart is appealing, with an impressive 24mm wide-angle and modest 120mm telephoto. While the 5x zoom range only just edges the lens into the superzoom category, the widest focal length is an effective 36mm on DX bodies. Meanwhile, the telephoto length translates to 180mm, making it a viable superzoom for cameras such as the D3100 or D7000.

One advantage of this lens over Nikon's 18-200mm is that it doesn't suffer from any zoom creep. This is handy if you want to use a tripod for shooting at extreme angles. However, VR is a generation older, only gives a three-stop benefit and lacks an 'Active' mode for moving platforms.

Performance

Sharpness is great at the wide-angle end, excellent at mid-range and only drops off a little at the longest focal length. There's much less distortion at the wide-angle end, compared with several lenses in the group.

Sharpness

Sharpness can be lacking at the largest available apertures, but performance is good if you make a one-stop reduction.